Who’s looking good heading into the 23/24 NHL Season?

With the NHL in its nascent stages, now is a good time to look back over the offseason that’s been and take a look at some of the expected contenders for the 2024 Stanley Cup.

The Canes have been one of the best teams in the NHL over the past few seasons, coming oh-so-close to a cup. This offseason they added Michael Bunting from the Leafs, adding a physical presence to a forward line lacking just that.

The Hurricanes are once against amongst the elite in the NHL and will be expecting another deep run in the playoffs. If their goalies can stay healthy, they are a team with very few weaknesses. Many experts are picking them to win it all come finals time, so get your hopes up, Hurricanes fans.

The Devils are the team best placed to challenge the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division, having loaded up once again this offseason. The trade for Tyler Toffoli adds depth and quality to a forward line already dripping with it.

This is a team with high expectations, the biggest danger to the Devils and the Canes is each other, with the division likely coming down to those two. If they can get past the Canes, there is no reason why this team can’t make a deep run.

Another season, another year of high expectations in the Queen City. On paper, this is a squad with great depth and some elite talents, yet the heightened pressure that playoff hockey brings has seemed too much for the Leafs in recent years. Adding some much-needed grit in Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi could well be the difference.

Last season saw the Leafs make it out of the first round for the first time in what felt like forever, this year it’s time to see them take the next step. Anything less could see big changes come next offseason.

A brutal end to the season last year saw the 62-12-5 Bruins crash out in the first round to the Hurricanes, this season is all about putting that right. There wasn’t too much needed to round out this squad given their incredible record last year but Morgan Geekie is a nice piece to bring in from the Kraken.

Recreating last year could prove tricky given just how dominant a regular season the Bruins produced but reaching the playoffs should be the minimum Boston fans should be expecting from this season.

Another team with realistic Stanley Cup hopes this season, the Stars were able to snag veteran center Matt Duchene from the Predators after he was bought out of his contract. Elsewhere there were few additions given the quality of the group already, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

There aren’t many teams in the NHL this year that can match the Stars talent-wise, as ever in pro sports it’s all about getting hot at the right time. For the Stars fans, this should be an exciting season, with a very realistic chance of making the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in five seasons.

The Avs are, once again, amongst the best teams in the NHL, as they have been for some time now. With a loaded defensive unit and some smart additions to the forward line in Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton, there are few weak spots on the ice. Goalie could be an area of weakness if Pavel Francouz can’t return to the ice as Alexandar Georgiev’s backup.

The Avs and the Stars will be going to battle this season with two of the best squads in hockey and will be battling it out all season in the Central division. If they can get past Dallas, they should be confident in making a run all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers boast probably the best player in hockey in Connor McDavid, with the superstar center playing a pivotal role in the highest-scoring offense in the league. A fairly quiet offseason saw a few departures and the arrival of Connor Brown on a cheap contract. Brown was injured all of last year but the hope is he can bounce back to his old ways quickly.

This is a team possibly already focusing on the playoffs as they expect to make it through the regular season with relative ease if McDavid et al play to their usual levels. Beyond that, the pressure is on with fans expecting a run at the Stanley Cup sooner rather than later.

The defending champs return this season with a very similar group, only really losing Reilly Smith from the team that won it all last year. Elsewhere there really hasn’t been much movement but after winning it all last year, did there really need to be?

It’s never easy to go back to back, so we’re not ready to crown the Knights the champs just yet but when you look at the team they’ve put together, it wouldn’t be crazy to think they have enough talent to make it to the Final once again.